


Darcy and the Phantom

by Honyasbookshelf



Category: Danny Phantom, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Adventure, Amity Park Is Strange (Danny Phantom), Canon-Typical Violence, Danny Whump, Darcy Lewis's Taser, Darcy Lewis-centric, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, For Science!, Friendship, Gen, Ghosts, Humor, Identity Reveal, Jane Foster & Darcy Lewis Friendship, Not Phantom Planet Compliant (Danny Phantom), POV Danny Fenton, POV Darcy Lewis, Panic Attacks, Post-Thor: The Dark World, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Secret Identity, Sleep Deprivation, Vlad's Evil Machinations, brief angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-16 01:08:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29073849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Honyasbookshelf/pseuds/Honyasbookshelf
Summary: "Darcy should probably have taken it as a sign to turn right around and leave when her first sight upon entering the city was a glowing kid with white hair crashing bodily through the billboard proclaiming that Amity Park was 'A Nice Place to Live.' Especially when that was immediately followed up by a girl in a red bodysuit riding a flying surfboard and shooting lasers at the first kid. But, well, Darcy had won a whole vacation package to visit Amity Park, and it seemed like a waste to not at least check the place out."Darcy Lewis visits Amity Park. It's a weird place, but its local hero is pretty cool. She's definitely got to get Jane here at some point.
Relationships: Danny Fenton & Tucker Foley & Sam Manson, Darcy Lewis & Danny Fenton, Darcy Lewis & Jane Foster (background), Darcy Lewis & Vlad Masters, Darcy Lewis & the Fentons, Darcy Lewis/Ian Boothby (background), Jane Foster/Thor (background)
Comments: 44
Kudos: 144





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, everyone! Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Timeline notes: For Darcy, this is post _Thor: The Dark World_ but while Thor and Jane are still together. For Danny, it's somewhere in season 3, but before/not compliant with "Phantom Planet."

Darcy should probably have taken it as a sign to turn right around and leave when her first sight upon entering the city was a glowing kid with white hair crashing bodily through the billboard proclaiming that Amity Park was “A Nice Place to Live.” Especially when that was immediately followed up by a girl in a red bodysuit riding a flying surfboard and shooting lasers at the first kid. But, well, Darcy had won a whole vacation package to visit Amity Park, and it seemed like a waste to not at least check the place out.

Besides, she was riding a bus and couldn't exactly turn back until she'd reached the stop in Amity Park anyhow. She leaned forward in her seat right behind the driver, totally getting into his personal space and not caring at all.

“So, what's the deal with that?” she asked, gesturing vaguely in the direction of the mid-air battle going on outside the bus.

“That, missy? That would be the local ghost-hero Phantom and the Red Huntress. They're always going at each other like that, from what I hear.” He looked nervously from the road to the fight going on not fifty yards away and back.

“Weird,” Darcy said, sitting back in her seat and staring out the window at the two flying combatants. After all the things she'd seen working with Jane and Erik—and particularly the craziness that Thor seemed to bring with him—it would take more than this to truly unsettle her, but she had to admit she was curious.

“So this Phantom's, like, actually a ghost?” she asked.

“Believe me, that's not as weird as you'd expect around here. It doesn't get advertised to the outside world much, but Amity Park is a hotbed of ghosts. They're constantly causing trouble. Why, I had my bus taken over by a technology-obsessed ghost once. Phantom and the Red Huntress are the only reasons they're not any worse, from what I can tell.”

“But they still fight like that?” Darcy pondered. That made literally zero sense.

“Always.” The bus driver settled back to concentrating on the road as the Red Huntress hovered, looking frustratedly at the empty air where Phantom had just been.

“Wait, did he just vanish?!” Darcy asked in disbelief. Man, this wasn't exactly Jane's field, but once she got back from her—whatever she was doing with Thor, Darcy wasn't asking—Darcy would have to drag her here to check this place out. Ghosts, hoverboards that actually worked, literal disappearances into thin air . . . Jane would lose her nut over this.

***

Darcy was greeted at the bus stop by a pert woman in a brisk business suit holding a sign with “Darcy Lewis” scrawled boldly across it. She grabbed her bag and trundled over to the woman.

“Hi, I'm Darcy. Wow, this place is wild. Here, thanks,” she said, passing her bag over to the woman and ignoring the nonplussed look she received in return.

“Marsha Banks. So nice to have you here, Ms. Lewis. Congratulations on winning the contest. Mayor Masters is thrilled to have you here. He'd be here to greet you himself, but I'm afraid he was called away on a last-minute emergency. If you'll follow me, I'll take you to your hotel and familiarize you with your vacation package.”

Darcy blinked at the efficiency before shrugging and rolling with it. She was going to _enjoy_ this vacation, dammit! She'd spent _way_ too much time either running from things that were trying to kill her or just making sure that Jane and Erik ate and bathed. Now that Jane was away and Erik was buried in some project or another, well . . . when she'd won that vacation package, Ian had insisted that he could take care of things on the home front and that she should go enjoy the break.

Although come to think of it, she couldn't remember actually _registering_ for this particular trip. Eh, it was probably one of those automatic entry kind of things or something. She shrugged again. She was here, and she planned to have fun.

The hotel room, when she arrived, was nice enough, any deficiencies glossed over by the very nice bottle of wine waiting on the table by the ice bucket. It looked like there were some interesting things on the itinerary, too. Mostly, she had been given vouchers to do things on her own—there were spa vouchers, a city ghost tour (she wondered if it was anything like the ones she'd heard of in Charleston), a couple of nice restaurants. There were also several vouchers for a local diner called the “Nasty Burger,” which she had to hope was better than it sounded. Local irony, perhaps? Ooh, and she had an invitation to dinner with the mayor himself the next evening. That could be fancy—something fun to wave in Ian's face.

Marsha had left her number as well, just in case Darcy needed anything. Dang, it was nice to be the one being looked after for once!

She decided to call Jane as she dropped her bag on the floor, struggled out of her boots, and started in on the bottle of wine. Jane picked up on the fourth ring, sounding a bit breathless.

“Hey, Darce, what is it? I'm kind of in the middle of something.”

“Ooh, you and Thor having sweet sex?”

“No, no, nothing like that.” She sounded embarrassed.

“Well, why not? Isn't that why you two went off together?”

“I kind of had a breakthrough. With a project. I'm just working out a few of the details, then I'll put the work away. I just don't want to lose this train of thought.” Typical. Off on a sexy getaway with an amazingly hot Asgardian prince, and Jane gets distracted by science.

“Jane, you were doing so good. Don't mess it up. But hey, listen, you have _got_ to come check this place out sometime. There are, like, literal ghosts. It's crazy. You'll love it.”

“Hmm? Yeah, Darce,” Jane agreed distractedly.

“And I've lost you to the science. I'll let you go. Just don't leave that hunk of gorgeousness on his own for too long, okay?”

She hung up, leaving Jane to whatever scientific discovery had piqued her interest this time. She lay back in the soft hotel bed, turning on the TV and sipping slowly at her glass of wine. Yeah, this vacay was going to be nice.

As she lounged, comfortably watching _The Bachelor_ , she picked up her phone and sent a selfie to Ian. _Wish u were here yet?_ she texted him along with the picture.

He replied shortly with a _What do you think? But have fun!_ accompanied by a picture, not of himself, but of Erik sitting in his t-shirt and underpants fiddling with some sort of tech, several half-full cups of coffee surrounding him.

She hummed softly in amusement and settled back in her mountain of pillows. She had definitely gotten the better end of this particular bargain—as was her right as senior intern.

***

Danny Fenton shoved his hands in his pockets and hunched his shoulders, sighing as he walked home with his best friends, Sam and Tucker. They were walking home from an evening of “hanging out,” i.e. fighting ghosts followed by a stop at the Nasty Burger for milkshakes.

“This reeks, guys. I don't like it. Skulker said _three days_ ago that Vlad's got something _special_ planned, but nothing's happened yet,” he bemoaned. Seriously, that long a wait? Could only mean serious trouble when whatever that fruitloop planned came into effect.

“C'mon, Danny,” Sam said, patting his arm in a comforting gesture. “Whatever happens, we'll deal with it then. It'll be okay.”

“I know. I just hate not knowing what's coming, especially when Vlad's involved.”

“You know,” Tucker volunteered, never looking up from his PDA where he was playing a game while walking—somehow without tripping, “if you're that worried about it, you could always try sneaking into Vlad's place to see if you can find anything out.”

“ _Tucker_ ,” Sam hissed. “That's a terrible idea. Danny, please don't.”

“Right,” Danny mumbled, outwardly agreeing, but mentally already plotting the best way to get into Vlad's office to snoop around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I'd love to hear what you think.
> 
> This is a WIP. It's all plotted out and partially written, but if there's something you think would be fun to include, please let me know. I'll fit it in if I can. I'm planning to post once weekly, either Friday evening or Saturday.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have another chapter a day early, because I have no self-discipline and can't deal with the anticipation any longer. I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Tags have been updated to include some background relationships, but nothing that should really affect anything major; just spelling out some things that are probably assumed anyway.

The next morning, Darcy got up late and ordered room service for breakfast. Might as well; she wasn't paying for any of it, right? She texted a pic of her elegant plate of French toast and strawberries to Ian before digging in.

About halfway through eating, the quiet was broken by a loud crash. She ran out onto the hotel balcony, not even caring that she was still in her fluffy pink kitten-print bathrobe. Outside, she found Phantom fighting what she could only assume was another ghost—a floating green, glowing entity that was shooting green beams at the ghost hero, the two of them trading banter as they fought. Weird.

During the fight, Phantom ended up passing extremely close to her balcony, locking glowing toxic-green eyes with her own brown ones as he passed.

“Hey, cute kittens,” he quipped, shooting finger guns her way before darting off again. He hit the other ghost with some kind of energy beam then sucked it into what _looked_ like a thermos but had to be some kind of advanced technology. Darcy _had_ to get her hands on some more information about this stuff. For science!

Ghost tour it was, then, today.

***

Danny decided to try sneaking into Vlad's office before heading to school. He'd already missed most of his math class anyway due to a rogue ghost stirring up trouble; what would it hurt to be a few minutes later? Besides, Sam would take notes for him, however grudgingly. She was determined to keep him from failing all his classes, although it seemed the ghosts in town had other ideas for him.

They'd kept him up most of the night before, too. Come to think of it, he probably should have gotten more than three hours of sleep before attempting to act on Tucker's idea. He might have gotten further if he had.

As it was, he slipped—invisible and intangible—through the wall of City Hall into Vlad's office, pausing to stare in revulsion at the picture of his own mother sitting on Vlad's desk. The dude had problems. Gross.

Distracted as he was by his disgust, Danny failed to hear the office door open.

“Ah, Daniel, come to visit your dear Uncle Vlad?” Danny whirled to face the voice, rapidly transforming back into his human form in case there was anyone else with the mayor. (Yes, he was thinking oh-so-clearly at the moment.)

“You wish, Masters! What are you plotting?” Danny spat back. Not his best comeback, but hey, he was half asleep on his feet here.

“Wouldn't you like to know? I suppose you shall simply have to wait and see, won't you? Now, chop chop, off to school with you. This office is a teenager-free zone, don't you remember? Come, Marsha will give you a ride. Don't want you to get lost on the way now, do we?” And with that, the mayor shooed the seething hero out the door into the care of his personal assistant, who drove him to school—effectively preventing him from getting into anything else on the way.

Score one for Vlad. Danny silently vowed to get even.

***

As they approached their final stop on the ghost tour, Darcy flipped through the pictures on her phone. So far, the trip had been interesting, although more anecdotal and sensationalized than she had expected. It was fun, of course. Just her style, in fact. And she'd gotten some really great pictures of the effects of ghosts on the town—damaged buildings, residual ectoplasm—and even a couple of blurred pics of actual ghosts passing by. But she had really been hoping for some more scientific data to pass on to Jane and Erik.

The bus ground to a stop at their final destination, and Darcy stared agape at the place. It looked like a converted house, with some sort of spaceship-like contraption on the roof and a huge neon sign proclaiming “Fenton Works” sticking out from the front of the building. It was tacky as all get-out, and she couldn't quite figure out why they were stopped here.

Then the door of the place opened, and two individuals wearing bright hazmat suits and excited smiles burst out of the door.

“Hi, I'm Jack Fenton, and I'm here to talk to you about ghosts!” the huge guy in the orange suit exclaimed.

“Welcome, I'm Dr. Maddie Fenton, ghost expert and inventor, and this is my husband, Dr. Jack Fenton,” the woman in the teal suit said in a much more calm tone. And oh, that explained a lot. These guys were _scientists_. Darcy might actually get that data for Jane after all.

The tour group was ushered into the building. _Oh, it actually_ is _a house,_ Darcy thought as they were led through the messy living room and into the basement. She stopped at the foot of the stairs to take in the room, ignoring the annoyed tourists behind her who nearly tripped at her sudden stop.

“Holy shit! This place is nuts!” she exclaimed aloud. Everything was silver metal and a glowing toxic green that matched Phantom's eyes. There was weird, scientific-looking gadgetry _everywhere_. And there was a big, sturdy-looking sliding door standing closed on one wall. Darcy began recording on her phone. Jack Fenton turned at her voice, a beaming smile taking up the entire lower half of his face.

“Isn't it swell?! Do you want to hear about ghosts? Let me tell you about ghosts!”

Darcy could only nod as the ghost scientist entered into what she could only think of as a bizarre combination of rant and scientific exposition, punctuated by incisive, intelligent comments from his wife. It was honestly kind of overwhelming, like standing beneath a rushing waterfall, but it was clear that these people actually knew what they were talking about.

She found it concerning and sad, though, that they seemed to hate all of the ghosts—Jack at one point in his rant vowing to rip Phantom apart “molecule by molecule.” Darcy had had a _moment_ with Phantom just that morning. He seemed _nice_. So she said so.

“Nice?! That Phantom is a menace,” Jack declared.

“Well, you have to admit, dear, he hasn't been _so_ bad recently,” Maddie interjected. “But yes—”

“Darcy.”

“Darcy, generally speaking, most ghosts cause trouble any time they're outside of the Ghost Zone. It's not necessarily even that they mean to. But they're driven by their obsessions, and that tends to cause trouble.”

“Oh,” Darcy said. That kind of made sense? Although Phantom still didn't seem to fit into these scientists' tidy explanations. “Wait, what's a Ghost Zone?”

“Why, it's the zone the ghosts come from,” Jack explained . . . which actually explained nothing. “We have a portal to access it. Do you want to see?”

“Uh, yeah? I guess?” Darcy answered, unsure what exactly she was agreeing to, but curious all the same. The tour guide didn't seem too enthusiastic about the idea though, proclaiming that the tour was over and trying to usher everyone back out onto the bus posthaste.

Darcy excused herself from the tour at that point, explaining that she could make her own way back. By the time she turned back to the Fentons, it seemed that Maddie had talked Jack out of opening the portal for now; however, she did provide a clearer explanation that the Ghost Zone was an alternate dimension, connected to our own, where the ghosts live. And that—that was intriguing. Like, _majorly_ the sort of thing Jane would be into. So Darcy ended up sticking around Fenton Works to explain that she worked with some scientists herself and that she'd love to get the Fentons' contact information for them.

“More people who want to talk about ghosts? Sounds great!” Jack said, and Maddie gladly provided their information to pass on to Jane and Erik. Darcy left Fenton Works with a smile, a friendly wave, and an invitation to dinner the next day. Score.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I'd love to hear what you think. This is still a WIP, so if there's anything you'd really like to see here, let me know, and I'll see if I can work it in. :)
> 
> Chapter 3 should be posted next Friday evening or Saturday.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone's support of this story has been mindblowing. Thank you so much! In thanks, have the next chapter a day early _and_ extra long. (It was that or really short, and I didn't want to shortchange you guys when you've been so awesome.) Hope you enjoy!

After leaving the Fentons', Darcy decided to stop by this Nasty Burger place for a late lunch/snack to tide her over until her dinner with the mayor later that evening. It was pretty clear from the moment she entered that the place was a high-school hangout—it was late enough by that point that school was out for the day. Still, she didn't think she stuck out too badly as she sat alone at a booth, dipping her shoestring fries in her chocolate shake and texting back and forth with Ian.

She'd sent both him and Jane the pictures and audio recordings she'd gotten on the ghost tour earlier. Ian agreed that it was all very interesting and something Erik and Jane would be interested in . . . once they could be dragged out of whatever scientific fugue they were in the middle of at the moment. Erik, apparently, hadn't slept at all last night and was still where Ian left him the night before, tinkering with _something_ and charting out sprawling, incomprehensible calculations. Jane had yet to respond to Darcy's texts, but whether that meant she was busy enjoying her time with Thor (like she was _supposed_ to be) or equally involved in something sciencey remained to be seen.

About the time Ian signed off to _try_ to prompt Erik to rest ( _talk 2 u soon x_ ), a trio of teenagers walked into the diner—a kid in a red hat fiddling with some electronic device and talking at the same time, a goth-punk chick with a sweet spider backpack, and a slouching dark-haired kid in a NASA t shirt, skinny jeans, and chucks. Darcy paused to stare, milkshake-covered fry halfway to her mouth, not even noticing it dripping onto the table.

“Is, like, no one going to even notice that that kid looks _just like_ that Phantom ghost?” she asked, loudly enough for half the diner to hear. Seriously, that was just _weird_ , like, were they twins and one of them died or something?

For a moment, stunned silence descended over the place, and the kid turned to meet her gaze, a look of horrified recognition in his eyes. _Holy shit_ , she thought as an insane sense of déjà vu swept over her. _This kid doesn't_ look like _Phantom; he_ is _Phantom. How?!_

Then the spell was broken as all the teenagers in the place burst into laughter and jeers, like the idea was too ridiculous for words. She couldn't help but notice that the kid and his two friends laughed just a second too late for it to be entirely believable or that their laughter was just a touch too brittle and forced.

She turned back to her food to hide her confusion, only to look up again as a hand patted her shoulder. A red-headed teen stood over her, a look of commiseration on his face.

“I feel your pain. Believe me, I've tried to make them see it,” he said before walking away, glaring at the dark-haired kid and his friends as he passed.

***

Danny sat in a booth at the Nasty Burger with Sam and Tucker. His heart had almost returned to its normal rate after the scare that woman had given him earlier. He slumped onto the table, pushing his food wrappers away from him. What he wouldn't give for a nap right about now. Sam reached over to gently rub his back.

“Relax, Danny. Your cover's okay. No one believed her, even if she _did_ recognize you. Besides, it sounded more like she just thought you were a look-alike, not that you actually _are_ Phantom,” she said.

He hummed a contented, sleepy response, choosing to ignore the recognition he had seen in the woman's eyes earlier in favor of appreciating the way Sam's tiny hands were working out the tension knots in his neck.

“Um, guys, you might want to take a look at this,” Tucker said from across the table, holding his PDA out to them. A picture of the woman from before, complete with the signature red hat she had been wearing today, standing casually next to THE Thor stared back at them with the caption “Innocent Intern or Opportunistic Influencer?: Darcy Lewis Sleeps Her Way Through the Avengers.”

“Whoa. That's. . . .” Okay, Danny didn't really know _what_ to say to that.

“That's not great _if_ she actually _does_ have influence with the Avengers, but let's be real, Tucker. That's a totally trashy gossip rag, so the story's probably fake or at least blown _way_ out of proportion,” Sam reasoned.

Danny thumped his head back on the table with a groan. He had _not_ had enough sleep to deal with this.

***

When Darcy arrived back at her hotel room that afternoon, she found another bottle of wine _and_ a box of fine chocolates waiting on the desk, along with a note stating that the mayor was looking forward to her presence for dinner that evening and that Marsha would be by to pick her up at 7 o'clock. She snapped a picture and sent it to Jane.

_Should i b concerned? Mayor sent this 2 me_ _plus wine yesterday_ , she texted along with the picture. She then proceeded to slip off her boots, hat, and scarf and settle in to watch _Ellen_. She had some time to relax before she needed to get ready for dinner, and her brain was tired of all the sciencing it had been doing. And the worrying about that kid. Seriously, what on earth?

_Be careful_ , Jane's reply eventually came. _He may just be trying to be nice or may want something from you. Just don't want you getting hurt. Call me if you need me. We're in Rome, but Thor can have us there pretty quickly if needed. Oh, and the ghost info you sent looks intriguing. I'm especially interested in this Ghost Zone. Thor says he's never heard of it. Let me know if you find out more._

_K have fun!_ Darcy texted back with a smile, relaxing against the pillows and munching a piece of chocolate. She _knew_ Jane had her back—she'd proven it in her fierce defense of her intern during the recent media storm they'd had to deal with. Still, it was always nice to be reminded that her friend cared.

***

A few hours later, Darcy stepped out of the car in front of a huge, ornate home that she could only describe as a mansion. Actually, the place looked familiar . . . maybe she'd seen it on TV before? The door swung open to reveal an urbane older gentleman with his greying hair pulled pack in an elegant ponytail. _Oh_.

“Holy shit!” Darcy exclaimed. “You're _that_ Vlad Master! I saw you in _People_ 's “Top Twenty Richest Americans.” You're, like, famous!”

“Good evening, Miss Lewis,” the mayor said, graciously brushing over her babbling and ushering her into his home. “I trust you have enjoyed your stay in my town so far?”

“Wow, um, yeah,” she said, trying to collect herself. “It's been interesting. Lots of ghosts. Which is weird, but like, also cool.”

He smiled slightly, helping her into her chair at the table. She looked at the elegant spread before her as he settled into the chair opposite her. _I could get used to this_ , she mused, digging into the delicious meal and exchanging mild pleasantries. It was a stark contrast to the exhausted silence over bowls of cereal back at the lab—or the meals completely skipped because the world was ending or there was sciencing to do.

Her attention was drawn back to Mayor Masters as he worked his way around to his true intentions.

“Miss Lewis,” he said, “as you have observed, this town is overrun by ghosts. I have the financial power to do great good for this town and its people. Even for people beyond Amity Park. And yet, I find my efforts constantly thwarted as the ghosts here create innumerable troubles for my citizens and exorbitant destruction of property, especially that Danny Phantom. I believe you are close to some people who may have the power to help; perhaps we could come to a mutually beneficial relationship . . . ?”

And the penny dropped. Darcy stood abruptly, shoving her chair back violently, her cheeks flushed with a combination of anger and embarrassment.

“Oh, typical. That's it, then, isn't it? Jane said it sounded like you wanted something from me. It's not true, you know? All the things the tabloids say? Like, I have a boyfriend. And most of the Avengers don't have a clue who I am. They definitely wouldn't do stuff for me just because I asked. So you're out of luck, mister.”

“I—” he began, but she'd gotten a good head of steam going by that point.

“No, the answer's no. Thanks for everything, but I'm leaving now. And I happen to _like_ Phantom, I think. I'm keeping the spa vouchers, by the way,” she said, turning to storm out through the vast hallways of the mansion into the chilly night.

“Wait, at least let me call my assistant to give you a ride,” he said, seeming to still be trying to salvage the evening. _He must want this pretty badly_ , Darcy thought.

“I'll walk. I need the air,” she said aloud, not turning as she walked right out the front door. She started walking, furious at the turn the evening had taken and not really paying attention to where she was going.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, Vlad's evil plans have come to light. Don't think this is the last we'll be hearing from him, though. Mwahaha.
> 
> Thank you for reading! Comments are always appreciated. I'll try to have the next chapter up by the end of next week.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tags have been updated. Nothing major, but please read them if you have any concerns.
> 
> This is now officially my most popular fic ever, which is just insane. You guys blow me away! Hope you enjoy the new chapter! :D

Dinner at the Fenton residence that day was overwhelmingly dominated by Maddie and Jack's crowing over how they had a new scientist contact who worked closely with the Avengers themselves. They were gushing over the possibilities for “cooperative research” and “shared resources” and “recognition in the scientific community.”

Jazz kept shooting Danny worried looks across the table when their parents weren't looking. He tried to reassure her without actually saying anything. _I know, Jazz, this could be bad if the Avengers decide to cause trouble for Phantom. But honestly, this Darcy person just looks young and normal—not at all like the sort to start some kind of vendetta. It's probably fine. And if something happens, I'll deal with it._

Yeah, he still hadn't slept and probably would have the energy to be more upset once he had actually gotten some rest. Still, he was far more concerned about whatever plans Vlad was cooking up. So far, the only thing he could guess was that the fruitloop was trying to kill Danny with exhaustion. Which . . . was working better than Danny would like to admit, but it seemed way too straightforward for one of Vlad's plans. More likely, it was a distraction from whatever he was _actually_ planning.

Well, Danny was going to get to the bottom of it. After dinner, he excused himself, saying he was going to go “study” at Tucker's and would be back by curfew. Jazz caught him on the way out the door, their parents still in the other room talking animatedly about their new scientific contact.

“Danny, are you okay? You look about ready to keel over. It isn't healthy for someone who's still growing to get this little sleep. I'm sure Tucker, Sam, and I could handle the ghost-hunting for one night. You should get some rest,” she said under her breath, giving him a calculating, worried look.

“Nah, it's okay, Jazz, but thanks. I'm going to grab a quick nap at Tucker's before I head out.”

“All right,” she agreed, still not looking happy about it. “But be sure to come home before too late. I'm worried about you.”

He nodded before heading out the door. Surprisingly enough, he did actually manage to get a few winks in, crashing on Tucker's bed, before heading out into the dark evening to spy on Vlad.

***

Vlad's mansion loomed ominously in the pale moonlight as Danny approached, invisible in his ghostly form. He peeked in at a lit window to get a feel for where Vlad was and what was going on at that point.

He was stunned to see Vlad sitting down to dinner with that Darcy woman, the mayor looking as smarmy as ever. Darcy looked like she was taking the situation in stride and enjoying her dinner, although she didn't _look_ like the sort to have dinner with billionaires on the regular. Of course, if what the tabloids said about her was _true._ . . . (But then, look what they said about _him_ ; clearly they couldn't be trusted for accurate information.) Still, Danny felt a twinge that felt almost like betrayal as he watched them clearly enjoying a pleasant meal together. He had had a mostly good impression overall of Darcy before this, but maybe he needed to rethink his opinions.

He was startled to see Darcy stand abruptly, indignation clear on her face. _Okay,_ something _happened. Maybe she's not so much in Vlad's pocket as she looked_. The sense of betrayal he felt transformed into vindictive gratification as he watched her positively storm out of the mansion, leaving Vlad with an expression of perplexed bemusement.

Okay, he would follow up on his spying on Vlad later. For now, this woman intrigued him—it wasn't just anyone who could foil Vlad so summarily. Plus, she was walking alone in Amity Park at night, a clear target for any ghost activity in the area. He'd follow her, just to be sure she was safe.

***

Darcy wasn't sure how long she walked, stewing over the mayor's insulting offer. She only gradually realized that her feet ached from walking, the chill was cutting into her bones, and she had no idea where she was.

As she rubbed her arms to try to warm herself, she felt grateful that she _hadn't_ realized just who she was having dinner with—she'd worn a warm, comfortable sweater-dress and low-heeled boots instead of the fancy dress and heels she would have probably chosen if she _had_ known she was dining with a famous billionaire.

She looked around, realizing she'd somehow wandered into a sort of warehouse district. Just how far had she walked? The area looked abandoned for the night, the occasional security light casting everything in long shadows dotted with tiny islands of clear illumination. It was honestly eerie-looking.

Darcy stopped in a pool of light to dig in her bag for her phone, beginning to feel on edge as the anger gradually bled out of her. GPS was a godsend at times like this; she was more than ready to head back to her hotel and get some sleep.

Just then, something made her look up, only to find herself confronted with a floating blue figure in what she could only describe as a lumberjack's outfit. Now, at any other time, that might be fine, even comical. She'd faced down a lot worse. But as it was, she let out a little shriek, dropped her phone, and began digging in her bag for her taser as the blue figure loomed closer.

“I am the Box Ghost. Beware!” the ghost cried.

With a sense of relief, Darcy gripped her taser, pulling it from her bag to face the ghost.

“Hey now, Boxy, I think it's time to pack—”

Darcy didn't mean to, really she didn't, but hearing the voice unexpectedly behind her, she whirled and used her taser before she could even register that it was Phantom behind her, holding out that thermos thing at the other ghost. She watched in horror as the ghostly hero cried out, falling to the ground and dropping the thermos. Two rings of light passed over him, revealing the dark-haired kid she had seen at the Nasty Burger earlier that day.

“No, no, no! I'm so sorry!” she wailed, crouching over him, barely registering that the other ghost had flown away. She was embarrassed more than worried, though; in her short time in Amity Park, she'd already seen plenty of footage of Phantom taking _way_ worse hits than a taser shock without any problem.

As she watched, embarrassment turned into concern as she realized he seemed to be having trouble breathing, his gaze focused on something unseen and a faint sheen of cold sweat on his pale skin.

“Hey, kid, you okay?” she asked, reaching out towards him. He flinched away from her touch. Okay, this was _way_ above her paygrade. She fumbled for her dropped phone, barely taking her eyes from the kid. The screen was cracked, but she breathed a sigh of relief when it still worked, a bit of the tension bleeding from her body as Jane's sleep-muddled face filled the screen.

“Darce,” her friend mumbled. “Why are you FaceTiming me at—” she glanced away to look at her clock, then groaned when she saw the time. Then she rubbed her eyes, actually focusing on the screen and taking in Darcy's clearly-freaking-out expression. “Hey, are you all right? What's going on?” she asked, worry flooding her face as the fog of sleepiness dissipated.

“So, I accidentally tasered the local hero, the ghost-kid? Only, he's like an actual kid-kid, too? I still don't get how that works, but not the point here. Anyway, he's like, having a panic attack? And I don't know what to do. Help!” Darcy explained in a rush.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Please let me know if you have any ideas you'd like to see included. This story is already better for the input of my incredible readers!
> 
> The next chapter should be up by the end of next week.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to SkyWriter121 for the comment that inspired parts of this chapter and the next. Thanks for the great idea!
> 
> I don't _think_ this is enough to merit a "graphic depictions of violence" warning, but if you think I need to add it, let me know and I will.
> 
> Hope you enjoy the chapter! :D

“That's it. Good. Just breathe, nice and slow. You're doing great, kid,” the voice gradually cut through the panicked fuzz that was Danny's brain. He blinked, finally beginning to feel able to catch his breath. Wow, it had been a long time since he'd had a panic attack like that, although he'd had them a lot just after the accident. The combination of the shock and the exhaustion must have been enough to push him over the edge tonight. He looked for the source of the voice.

“Hey, you back with us?” the voice asked, coming from the phone held in Darcy's hand as she knelt beside him looking shaken and guilty.

“I'm sooo sorry! Are you okay?” Darcy wailed, tears brimming in her tired brown eyes.

“Hey, hey, it's okay. I'm fine now,” he said, his words belied by the slight shaking in his hands and his voice. “It's—whoa, you're Dr. Jane Foster,” he fumbled to a stop, finally realizing who was looking back at him from the screen. That—that was—one of his literal heroes was _right there_ on the screen wearing a nightshirt and looking sleep-rumpled, she had watched him freaking out, and oh hey, the god of thunder was looming over her shoulder now. Oh hell, he was about ready to start freaking again.

“Hey, kid. Um, you can just call me Jane, and this is Thor, and I dunno, have you met Darcy yet? She was kind of vague on the details.”

“Er, sort of, I guess? I'm Danny,” he answered, his trembling finally subsiding in the face of her calm.

“Well, it's good to meet you. I like your shirt, by the way,” she smiled at him, and he found himself relaxing and smiling back. The scientific articles he'd read failed to mention that she was charming. Maybe he hadn't totally ruined her opinion of him after all? She continued, “Look, we're going to be there as soon as we can get ourselves pulled together, but for now, can Darce take you home? You look about dead on your feet. Er. . . .” A mortified, guilty expression crossed her face for a moment.

Oh. Well then. So much for keeping secrets. Darcy must have told them, he realized, finally appreciating the fact that he was in his human form now, which meant he must have transformed when he got shocked. No point in hiding it, then.

“I'm already dead,” he deadpanned. A beat of awkward silence followed, then everyone broke down into a rush of relieved laughter. “But seriously,” he continued, “it's late enough that Tucker will have told my parents that I slept over. I honestly don't think I can deal with them right now. I could sleep for _days_.”

“Well, you can have my couch if you want,” Darcy offered. “It's a pull-out. You can fanboy over space or whatever with Jane when she gets here, then we can take you home.”

“Thanks,” he said, forcing himself to overcome his exhaustion and get to his feet, offering her his hand. “C'mon, I'll fly us to your hotel. It'll be way quicker than calling a cab, especially at this time of night.”

***

Flying through the sleeping town was something Danny loved—stars winking above him, the wind in his face, no one making demands of him. Pity he didn't get to enjoy it more; usually, when he was out at night, it was because there were other ghosts out there making trouble. It was exhilarating to get to share the experience with Darcy, to hear her breathless gasps and exclamations as the city unfolded beneath them.

It was peaceful and fun . . . right up to the moment when they ran straight into Vlad Plasmius. A spiteful smirk crossed the older ghost's face.

“Why Phantom, just who I was hoping to see,” he said, shooting an energy beam right at the two of them without even pausing to let Danny set his passenger down safely. Darcy let out a shriek and clung to Danny. Danny shot an ectoblast back at Plasmius, buying himself just enough time to get her to the ground.

“Find somewhere to hide!” he yelled, already flying back to meet Plasmius. Adrenaline cut through the sleepy haze he had been operating under previously, leaving everything in sharp-edged focus—at least for the moment.

“Look, old man, it's not my fault your risotto was dry!” he said to the other ghost as they exchanged blows well out of Darcy's earshot. A complicated expression came over Vlad's face as he realized Danny had seen his complete humiliation earlier that evening. He redoubled his attacks with a vengeance.

Danny fought back as hard as he could, but the adrenaline rush only lasted so long. Soon the lingering effects of exhaustion and the wiped-out feeling that always followed his panic attacks were making his reflexes much slower than they should be. His stamina was flagging, and he knew he couldn't keep going much longer. He spared a glance to make sure Darcy had found somewhere safe to hide—a moment's lapse in concentration that cost him dearly as he found himself thrown brutally to the ground, bleeding ectoplasm, the wind knocked out of him completely.

He was struggling to raise himself back up to fight when a crash of thunder echoed across the night sky and the heavens opened in a downpour of rain. A flash of bright light nearly blinded him.

Blinking back his vision, Danny noted that Plasmius was nowhere to be seen. _Probably had something to do with that big light_ , he thought vacantly, his vision swimming as unconsciousness reached up to claim him. Just before he blacked out completely, he felt himself being lifted in a pair of warm, solid arms that reminded him of his father.

“Be at peace, little warrior. You did well. Rest now,” a voice rumbled near his ear, then he lost the fight for consciousness.

***

Darcy watched from behind a concrete-block warehouse as Phantom fought against some creepy vampire-looking ghost, the two trading vicious blows. Seriously, if the mayor had led with _this_ guy instead of going after Phantom, she might have been inclined to listen—even if she would have still left in a fury. It was the principle of the matter.

She winced sympathetically as Phantom crashed into a building nearby, green ectoplasm clearly leaking from a cut on his forehead.

“Come on, Jane, where are you?” she murmured. She knew for a fact that Jane packed light, and it was a fight to get Thor to pack much of anything at all. They should have _been here by now_.

A rush of relief washed over her as the signature crash of the Bifrost indicated that Jane and Thor were _finally_ here. Once she could see properly again, she rushed to greet them, not even caring that she was getting soaked in the rainstorm Thor brought with him. She threw herself into Jane's arms, nearly crying at the reassurance of her friends' presence.

“Hey, Darce, are you okay?” Jane asked, returning her hug before turning to take in the situation more thoroughly.

“Yeah, like, not really, but I'll be all right, I think. I can't believe you're here. This whole thing has been just, like, insane. Wait, where's Danny and that vampire guy?” Darcy looked around, noting that the other ghost seemed to have disappeared when her friends showed up. She had to admit, it was kind of nice that Thor had that effect on bad guys sometimes.

Thor walked up to them then, Phantom unconscious in his arms.

“Oh, Danny,” Darcy moaned, reaching up to brush his white hair away from the cut on his head.

“He fought bravely,” Thor said, his expression nearly fond although he had barely even met the boy. “I would like to say he reminds me of myself at that age, but in truth, he seems a far better person than I was.”

“Come on,” Jane said, all business now that there was clearly something to do. “We should get him back to the hotel, bandage him, up, let him rest. Maybe see if there's anywhere we can get food at this ridiculous hour.”

“Yeah, okay, that sounds good,” Darcy agreed, pulling up the GPS on her phone. “It's this way. And I think I saw a late-night pizza place that we could maybe convince to stay open long enough to deliver.”

“We will need bandages as well,” Thor reminded them. “He is . . . bleeding, I suppose, although the green color is strange.”

“Yeah, I think that's a ghost thing. Ectoplasm or something,” Darcy replied. “Maybe they have a first-aid kit at the hotel? If not, I guess we can always tear up the sheets to use them.”

Jane's face at the suggestion was less than impressed, but she linked arms with Darcy, the two of them leading the way back to Darcy's hotel room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! As always comments are welcome. I'm still finishing this, so I'd love any ideas you'd like to send my way! :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Can I just mention again that your support has been _amazing_?! Thank you so much. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

As they walked into the hotel lobby—two small, determined-looking women in front, Thor holding a battered-looking ghost kid following them—Darcy had to hold back a snort of laughter at the expression on the night receptionist's face.

“Um, do I—do I need to call the police?” the poor guy asked, visibly at a loss. He quailed under the baleful look Thor shot his way.

“This young warrior has fought valiantly to protect your city and your people. Is it not enough? Can you not permit him to rest now?” the hero replied. The receptionist paled, trembling, then nodded exuberantly.

“Yeah, yeah, okay. Sure, he can stay here and rest. I won't say anything.”

“Thanks,” Darcy said, smiling tiredly at him. It had been a very full day, and she was ready to drag herself up to her room and into bed . . . not that she could just yet, considering that they still had a bleeding (did you call it bleeding, for ghosts?) Phantom to bandage up before she could even _consider_ sleeping. Speaking of—oh, never mind, Jane beat her to it.

“First-aid kit?” Jane said expectantly to the receptionist, looking over at the wound on Phantom's head, which was still oozing green ectoplasm.

“Right, right,” the guy jumped, turning to fumble beneath the huge reception desk for a bit before popping out with a good-sized metal box with “First Aid” printed on it in big red letters. “Just, if you could, bring it back once you're done. It'll be bad if it isn't there when someone else needs it.”

“Of course. Thanks,” Jane said, taking the box and following the others towards the elevator.

They all crammed inside ( _Funny how places like this always seem so much smaller when Thor's around_ , Darcy thought) and rode up to Darcy's floor. Once inside her room, Thor lay Danny on the couch and stepped back to let Jane handle patching him up.

Darcy grabbed the wet washcloths Jane asked for then glanced at the clock. Ugh, too late to even consider ordering pizza. No one would even answer the phone. She dug around in her purse—eight dollars and 72 cents in odd bills and change. It would have to do. She stuck it in her pocket, grabbed the room's ice bucket, and made sure she had the room key.

“I'm gonna go see if I can find us something to eat and grab some ice for the kid's bruises, 'kay?” she called as she headed out the door, not even caring that the door slammed behind her as she let it go. Now, to find the vending machine and ice maker.

Nine minutes later (yeah, she'd fought with the vending machine a bit, okay?) Darcy fumbled her way back into her room, attempting to balance a full ice bucket plus an armful of soda bottles, Bugles, Cheez-Its, M&Ms, and whatever else she could convince the stupid machine to give up on short notice with her odd handful of funds.

Thor came up to take the ice bucket off her hands, using the liner bag to make an ice pack and wrapping it with a hand towel. He then handed the finished product to Jane, who had just finished cleaning, disinfecting, and bandaging Phantom's injuries.

“Well,” she said, wiping ectoplasm from her hands and looking for the most bruised-looking place to put the ice pack, “I think that's got it. Here's hoping ghost injuries work mostly like human injuries. Everything _seems_ to correspond pretty closely, but I'm honestly only guessing here.” Darcy's heart hurt a bit at the worried look on Jane's face.

“Hey,” she said, grabbing Jane's hand and pulling her over onto the edge of the bed next to Thor, “you're a genius. No second-guessing yourself like a dork. Here, you haven't had breakfast yet, have you?” She shoved a pack of Ding Dongs in Jane's face, cherishing the grateful smile she got in return.

“You, too, Thor,” she called, turning to make some coffee in the tiny pot that came with the room. “I think I managed to get a pack or two of Pop-Tarts. You should eat.”

***

Finally, far later than she would have liked, Darcy found herself curled up in one corner of the huge bed, ignoring Jane and Thor sitting on the other edge of the mattress talking quietly together. But just when Darcy was about to drift into sweet dreams, a loud, obnoxious ringing came from where Danny was still sleeping on the couch.

Thor and Jane looked askance at each other, but neither moved to make the damn noise stop. And it certainly didn't seem to intend to stop on its own, either, dammit. Finally, Darcy dragged herself out of bed with a moan and stalked over to the couch, fumbling around until she found a phone concealed in one of Danny's pockets. _How the hell did this thing survive?_ she thought as she answered the call without bothering to see who it was.

“Hey, Danny can't come to the phone right now.”

“Hello? Who is this? Is Danny okay?” the voice on the other end demanded, female, young, and edged with anxiety.

***

Danny awoke to the feeling of slender fingers gently carding through his hair. He relaxed into the sensation, savoring the fact that he actually felt rested for the first time in at least a week, probably more. _This is nice. I'll just live here now_ , he thought. It might have worked too, but his friends knew him too well.

“Hey, sleepyhead, don't try to act like you're not awake. You're lucky it's Saturday.” He could hear the smile in Sam's voice as she continued to run her fingers comfortingly through his hair.

Wait . . . was Sam supposed to be here? For that matter where _was_ here? What about Vlad? And Darcy—was she okay?! He sat up with a start, causing Sam to sit back abruptly to avoid clashing heads with him.

“Whoa, kid, chill,” Darcy's voice came from across the room. Danny relaxed again as he realized he was in what appeared to be a hotel room. Clearly, Darcy was fine. She was sitting on the bed, wrapped in her kitten-print robe and drinking a cup of something warm while doing something on her phone.

“You okay, kid?” she added, looking up from the phone to stare at him. “You had us worried last night. Oh, and, like, thanks for saving my life? That was super scary, but you were pretty awesome.”

“It's kind of my job,” Danny smiled, beckoning Sam onto the couch beside him and leaning into her side. “But you're welcome. What actually happened? I remember . . . oh crud, I remember transforming in front of you.” He facepalmed at the memory. Oof, that was embarrassing. He wasn't sure how, but this was all Vlad's fault, absolutely. _How_ he hated that guy. “And then I remember talking with Dr. Foster a bit. That was really cool. And then Vlad, then nothing.”

Sam growled a bit in the back of her throat at the mention of the other half-ghost, but she said nothing, leaning into Danny harder and leaving the explanations to Darcy.

“Vlad?” Darcy frowned. Danny realized his mistake with a start. Sure, he might hate Vlad, but he didn't intend to out the other half-ghost. That option was nuclear, mutually-assured destruction and all that. He wasn't ready to go down that road yet.

“Vlad Plasmius. The ghost that attacked us last night,” he clarified. And hey, it looked like Darcy bought his quick cover-up, even if Sam was giving him the side-eye over his slip.

“Right. . . . Anyhow, yeah, I zapped you by accident—sorry about that—and you transformed. Which, we have _all_ the questions, especially Jane, but we can save that for later. Then yeah, awesome flying, psycho ghost vampire, you passed out just as Thor and Jane arrived. I guess the other ghost didn't want to deal with all of us; he disappeared while we weren't looking. We brought you back here and patched you up. And your friend called in the middle of the night, freaking out.”

“You hadn't checked in in hours. We were justly concerned,” Sam interjected. Danny squeezed her hand.

“Right, like I was saying, freaking out. We let them know you were safe with us. They came over at dark-thirty—a _completely_ unreasonable time for a Saturday morning.”

“I came as soon as I could. I'd be grounded forever if my mom caught me sneaking out in the middle of the night again, and it didn't sound like an immediate emergency.”

“And now,” Darcy continued, “Jane, Thor, and your friend—Tuck?”

“Tucker.”

“ _Tucker_ are going to get breakfast for us all. They should be back pretty soon.”

“Oh.” And yeah, that was kind of a lot to take in all at once.

“Hey,” Sam said, rubbing his back gently to help ground him. “Jazz is covering with your parents. They think you're working on a big project with us for school today. She sent a change of clothes for you.” She held out a grocery bag, which he was pleased to see did in fact hold clean clothes for him. Sam continued, “Why don't you go ahead and get a shower and change, take a moment. Breakfast should be here by the time you're done, and you can science away then or whatever you want.”

And _that—_ that sounded like an _amazing_ idea. Danny looked at Darcy for the okay to use her bathroom, then headed for the shower. He desperately needed a few minutes to process all the crazy stuff that had happened over the last 24 hours. At least he'd finally gotten some decent sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! As always, I'd love to hear what you think. Your comments inspire me more than you know. :D


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Danny and Jane finally get to science! And I may be projecting on Thor a bit; sorry, not sorry? Not a lot actually happens here, since the conversations took longer than I was anticipating. But hopefully this is fun, too!

Darcy settled cross-legged on the edge of the bed with a slice of pizza and a glass of wine. Thor and Jane had gotten back hours ago with takeout bags full of breakfast foods, Tucker trailing behind them trying to balance a full tray of coffees with mixed success as the coffee stains in the carpet attested. Since then, breakfast time had gradually merged into lunchtime, and they had ordered pizza in to the hotel room.

She felt warm satisfaction watching the way Danny and Jane's faces lit up as they talked. Danny was wedged in the middle of the couch between his friends, Sam and Tucker, and Jane had rolled the chair from the desk over to sit opposite them. They had been talking for _hours_ now, Danny asking incisive questions about astrophysics and space, Jane trying to soak in everything she possibly could about ghosts—and the Ghost Zone in particular—and Sam and Tucker popping in with intelligent additions on occasion, although they mostly listened quietly. Watching Danny and Jane talk science was a bit like watching a ping-pong match, the ideas flying back and forth with a fury—an excited and fun fury, though. They were both clearly having a blast.

For her part, Darcy had enjoyed watching them, offering her own comments on occasion and texting Ian to update him on the situation as she thought of things to say. He replied with his own updates, sweet nothings, and funny kitten videos—she loved that he knew how to make her laugh and was looking forward to seeing him in person again soon. This trip had been _fantastic_ , if weird, but still. . . .

The bed shifted as Thor wandered over to sit down beside her, a whole pizza box in his hands.

“Hey, big guy,” she said, setting down her phone to give him her attention.

“Lady Darcy,” he nodded in reply, looking over at Jane and Danny, who were still talking excitedly, before turning back to her. “It is wondrous to see her so happy. As though this were the sort of thing she was made for.” And okay, that disgustingly fond look on his face was something all right. She kind of felt the same way, though, so she couldn't say anything.

“Yeah, they both look pretty jazzed right now. Hey, I never got to ask, how was Rome?”

“It was . . . beautiful,” he smiled, still not taking his eyes off Jane.

“Yu-huh,” she deadpanned. “And did you guys get out of your room and see the sights at all?”

“We did indeed. It was . . . enjoyable. We saw many things. Our sightseeing took us by some ancient ruins.” His voice got quiet at that, an unreadable expression on his face. “Lady Darcy, I remember when those places were being built. Now no one even remembers the people who built them, not really.”

And wow, what was she supposed to say to that? Like, _mood_ , yeah?

He continued, his voice cracking slightly. “I've lost too many that I love of late. I cannot bear the thought of losing her as well, yet I am reminded how brief human lives truly are. I do not know what to do.”

Oh. _Oh_. Darcy felt a whole flood of emotions rushing through her in rapid succession before she settled enough to respond.

“Hey. No. You can't think like that. Like, I get it. We feel that way about each other, too. Losing people sucks. But like, look. She's _right there—_ so passionate and beautiful and _alive—_ and if you spend your time worrying about losing her, you're going to miss the time you have with her _now_. You _can't do that._ ” She was breathing hard by the time she finished.

Thor stared at her, a stunned expression on his face, for a good ten seconds. Then a pensive smile took over. “You are right, my lady. Thank you.”

“Of course I am,” she patted his arm. “Now go get her.” He stood with a nod to her and moved to sit beside Jane's chair, looking resolute, like making the most of his time with her was a mission to be taken with utmost seriousness. _As he should_ , Darcy thought smugly. Her friend deserved nothing less, even from a prince.

***

Danny was having the time of his life. He felt more rested than he had in months. His ghost sense hadn't gone off _once_ since he'd awoken that morning. Lately, it had been interrupting his life every few _hours_ at least. He was a little concerned that this portended something even worse at a later point, but he was so relieved at the moment that he couldn't bring himself to worry too much about it.

Also, he was having the most _amazing_ conversation with one of his literal heroes, _the_ Dr. Jane Foster, one of the foremost researchers in astrophysics. How cool was that?! He was pleased to find that not only was she absolutely brilliant, but she was also just plain _nice_ and _cute_ and _funny_. It was great!

She let him satisfy his curiosity about several questions that had plagued him after reading her and Dr. Selvig's research articles—without making him feel stupid asking them. She even seemed interested in his thoughts on the matter, which was completely overwhelming but also quite flattering. He could feel the flush of excitement on his cheeks as they talked animatedly about space and the incredible things she'd seen.

Then she wanted to know _all_ about ghosts and particularly the Ghost Zone. Danny was honestly surprised—once he, Sam, and Tucker got going—at just how much they _did_ know, scientifically speaking. Like, yeah, they had all sorts of stories about the ghosts they'd encountered, what they were like, the things they could do, how they fought. And of course, they had all sorts of observations of what they had encountered on their forays into the Ghost Zone. But apparently, they had spent enough time mulling over what they experienced, trying to reason it out, and just plain countering Danny's parents' misinformation (if only between themselves) that they had amassed a good bit of technical understanding as well.

Not that there wasn't a ton of research still to be done. Dr. Foster—Jane—was positing all sorts of potential theories about the Ghost Zone, but none of them could be confirmed by the trio facing her. Danny was dying (ha!) to get her into the Specter Speeder and take her on a research tour. But that would have to wait until she had officially met his parents; it wasn't like he could reasonably sneak a famous scientist into his parents' basement. . . . Okay, yeah, he probably _could_ , but he _shouldn't_.

“So Danny,” Jane segued into another topic. “You've got the whole ghost-kid, human-kid thing going, and I know you made the comment that you're 'already dead.' Can I ask . . . ?”

Danny felt his expression freeze. Sam and Tucker tensed beside him, leaning closer for emotional support. His breathing quickened as he struggled to control his reaction. Jane's own expression fell as she seemed to realize she had misspoken.

“Sorry, I was just curious. Forget I said anything,” she quickly backtracked.

Danny took a deep, calming breath, taking Sam's hand in his own for comfort.

“It's okay,” he said. “It's just not something I'm super comfortable talking about. A little too close to home. Um, maybe I'll tell you the whole story someday when I know you better? But yeah, tragic lab accident. The other ghosts call me a halfa, 'cause I'm half-a-ghost, half-a-human. I'm an anomaly, though. But I'm _not_ a specimen to be researched. I'll help you with your research of the Ghost Zone. I'd _love_ to help with that. But that's all you need to know about me for now; it's not relevant to your current research.”

“Oh,” Jane breathed, wrong-footed. She regained her equilibrium after a moment. “I can respect that. I'm sorry. Um, you'd mentioned that at one point your entire town got sucked into the Ghost Zone. I'm curious about the ramifications for dimensional travel and the connections between the dimensions. Could you tell me more about what happened then?”

Relaxing at the change of subject, Danny shot her a grateful smile. So some people could be like this and put his needs before their own desires. That was . . . really nice. It made him feel safe in a way he hadn't for a long time around anyone besides Jazz and the two friends sitting beside him. He warmed to the new topic, launching into a detailed discussion of that bizarre experience, complete with side-commentary from his friends. Yeah, awkward moment aside, this was shaping up to be a great day.

***

Darcy jumped, nearly spilling her wine on the bed, as the opening lines of Black Sabbath's “Iron Man” grated out of Thor's phone. He answered it—on speaker, naturally, so they all could hear Tony Stark, loud and clear.

“Hey, Point Break, care to tell me why my social media is exploding with rumors that the Avengers are teaming up with Casper the Friendly Ghost?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll probably be wrapping this story up in the next few chapters, BUT I'm anticipating a sequel. I just need some time to collect ideas and get my thoughts together. SO, if you have any great ideas or things you'd like to see in a sequel, please let me know! :D


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